Nov 24, 2025 08:22 PM
(This post was last modified: Nov 24, 2025 08:37 PM by C C.)
https://inews.co.uk/news/world/how-worri...rs-4061981
EXCERPTS: Last week, Defence Secretary John Healey updated the public on the Russian “spy ship” Yantar, which was north of Scotland just outside UK territorial waters. “We are ready,” Healey said, while seemingly reserving the right to use force if the vessel entered British waters.
The ship ultimately headed off towards the Faroe Islands, tracked by a Royal Navy frigate. Days later, the Royal Navy tracked a Russian navy corvette and tanker passing through the English Channel on their way to Africa.
Both incidents raised fears of new Russian aggression and encroachments into the UK’s waters. Russian maritime mischief isn’t new. [...] The UK needs to be able to defend itself and secure Nato’s maritime flank against the Russian Navy, but the capabilities to do so have been hollowed out over the last three decades. Remedial action is moving too slowly.
Control of the sea has always been critical for Britain as an island nation. Around 95 per cent of all UK imports and exports by volume are moved by sea. In 2024, shipping enabled almost £1trn in UK trade. We have the fifth-largest exclusive economic zone in the world.
Meanwhile, 99 per cent of our digital communications is carried on subsea fibre optic cables, three quarters of the UK’s gas supply comes via subsea pipelines, and high voltage underwater cables connect our national grid to Europe, allowing for the two-way trade of electricity. This dependence leaves the UK highly vulnerable.
The Soviet Union understood this and invested heavily in capabilities to map and sabotage critical infrastructure belonging to its adversaries. Vladimir Putin has maintained this focus.
[...] The Royal Navy needs to protect maritime traffic in UK waters and critical undersea infrastructure. June’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) said that it “must be prepared to deter maritime incidents similar to the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and the cutting of undersea data cables in UK and international waters”.
To this end, a new surveillance ship, the RFA Proteus, was purchased. [...] The Royal Navy has also rolled out the Excalibur, a 12-metre submarine and the largest uncrewed underwater vessel trialled by the UK to date. The vessel was formally unveiled in March and will undergo two years of sea trials. But credible deterrence and defence require sufficient ships, aircraft and submarines ready to act, and these have all been hollowed out in recent decades.
The number of ageing frigates will soon dip to a paltry seven, before – on current plans – slowly growing to 13 in the 2030s. Only eight of these new ships will be fully anti-submarine warfare capable. Three offshore patrol vessels, including the HMS Severn, which is used in the Channel, will leave service in 2028 without an announced replacement. Meanwhile, many nuclear submarines remain stuck in port, awaiting refit or repair.
The Royal Air Force, for its part, now only operates nine P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. This is insufficient to guarantee adequate support for operations in home waters whilst simultaneously providing continuous cover for the strategic nuclear deterrent.
While the SDR recommended “evolution of anti-submarine warfare” and the use of drones for maritime surveillance, it was characteristically vague on previous plans to boost frigate numbers to 18. It also didn’t mention replacement offshore patrol vessels or patrol aircraft. MPs have rightly questioned the UK’s ability to protect itself... (MORE - missing detail)
EXCERPTS: Last week, Defence Secretary John Healey updated the public on the Russian “spy ship” Yantar, which was north of Scotland just outside UK territorial waters. “We are ready,” Healey said, while seemingly reserving the right to use force if the vessel entered British waters.
The ship ultimately headed off towards the Faroe Islands, tracked by a Royal Navy frigate. Days later, the Royal Navy tracked a Russian navy corvette and tanker passing through the English Channel on their way to Africa.
Both incidents raised fears of new Russian aggression and encroachments into the UK’s waters. Russian maritime mischief isn’t new. [...] The UK needs to be able to defend itself and secure Nato’s maritime flank against the Russian Navy, but the capabilities to do so have been hollowed out over the last three decades. Remedial action is moving too slowly.
Control of the sea has always been critical for Britain as an island nation. Around 95 per cent of all UK imports and exports by volume are moved by sea. In 2024, shipping enabled almost £1trn in UK trade. We have the fifth-largest exclusive economic zone in the world.
Meanwhile, 99 per cent of our digital communications is carried on subsea fibre optic cables, three quarters of the UK’s gas supply comes via subsea pipelines, and high voltage underwater cables connect our national grid to Europe, allowing for the two-way trade of electricity. This dependence leaves the UK highly vulnerable.
The Soviet Union understood this and invested heavily in capabilities to map and sabotage critical infrastructure belonging to its adversaries. Vladimir Putin has maintained this focus.
[...] The Royal Navy needs to protect maritime traffic in UK waters and critical undersea infrastructure. June’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) said that it “must be prepared to deter maritime incidents similar to the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and the cutting of undersea data cables in UK and international waters”.
To this end, a new surveillance ship, the RFA Proteus, was purchased. [...] The Royal Navy has also rolled out the Excalibur, a 12-metre submarine and the largest uncrewed underwater vessel trialled by the UK to date. The vessel was formally unveiled in March and will undergo two years of sea trials. But credible deterrence and defence require sufficient ships, aircraft and submarines ready to act, and these have all been hollowed out in recent decades.
The number of ageing frigates will soon dip to a paltry seven, before – on current plans – slowly growing to 13 in the 2030s. Only eight of these new ships will be fully anti-submarine warfare capable. Three offshore patrol vessels, including the HMS Severn, which is used in the Channel, will leave service in 2028 without an announced replacement. Meanwhile, many nuclear submarines remain stuck in port, awaiting refit or repair.
The Royal Air Force, for its part, now only operates nine P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. This is insufficient to guarantee adequate support for operations in home waters whilst simultaneously providing continuous cover for the strategic nuclear deterrent.
While the SDR recommended “evolution of anti-submarine warfare” and the use of drones for maritime surveillance, it was characteristically vague on previous plans to boost frigate numbers to 18. It also didn’t mention replacement offshore patrol vessels or patrol aircraft. MPs have rightly questioned the UK’s ability to protect itself... (MORE - missing detail)